Sitaram Yechury spots a star, says Kanhaiya to campaign for Bengal polls

New Delhi: Rapidly emerging as an icon among the non-BJP parties, including the Congress, Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar might campaign for the Left in the forthcoming West Bengal Assembly elections.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Friday said Mr Kanhaiya Kumar “will campaign” for the Left in the West Bengal polls. “All students supporting the Left will participate in the campaign along with Kanhaiya. For the first time the nation can see the power of the youth of the Left,” Mr Yechury told a news agency. CPI national secretary D. Raja said there is a demand for Mr Kanhaiya Kumar to campaign in different parts of India. “As a student activist, a political activist, he is likely to campaign for us. There are demands for him to campaign in many places. We will have to see how it works out,” Mr Raja said.

While the Left parties in Bengal are trying to latch on to “student power” to boost the Left’s electoral prospects, Mr Kanhaiya Kumar remained vague about it, saying he was the JNUSU president and his priorities were to work for the students of the institution.

The BJP and the Modi government, now introspecting on how politically prudent was the move to crack down on the JNU students over the nationalism issue, chose to ignore the beginning of the rise of Mr Kanhaiya Kumar in national politics. Union minister M. Venkaiah Naidu tried to dismiss him by claiming that Mr Kumar was “enjoying free publicity”. Trying to ridicule the JNUSU president, Mr Naidu said Kanhaiya Kumar should join his “favourite party” (read Left) which does “not even have single-digit” representation in Parliament. Yet again playing the nationalism card, Mr Naidu dared Mr Kumar to “condemn” the anti-India slogans that were allegedly raised on the JNU campus. “Universities are meant for education. They must study rather than getting involved in politics. If they are interested in politics, then they can leave studies and join politics,” Mr Naidu said.

If the BJP was seething against Mr Kanhaiya Kumar who took repeated jabs at Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing students on the JNU campus Thursday night, he was praised by the Opposition. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, “What a brilliant speech by Kanhaiya.” Mr Kejriwal added, “I told you several times Modiji don’t mess with students. Modiji did not pay heed... God bless Kanhaiya.”

Mr Yechury described his speech as “testimony to the fact that JNU students are demanding the creation of a better India and that they are the foot soldiers protecting the secular and democratic character of the Indian republic”. The Congress’ Ashwani Kumar said his party has been maintaining that Mr Kanhaiya Kumar did not utter anything anti-national at any point and that on Thursday he made it clearer through his speech.

Kanhaiya Kumar was released from Tihar jail on Thursday after the Delhi high court granted him bail following his nearly three-week-long incarceration in a case of alleged sedition.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar backed Mr Kanhaiya Kumar’s demands for freedom from poverty and intolerance and said the “talented” youth leader was more nationalist than those levelling charge of sedition against him. “The speech given by Kanhaiya Kumar in JNU after his release from jail is very effective ... Whatever he said is true,” the CM said, adding, “Kanhaiya Kumar said we do not talk of freedom from India but freedom in India and demand independence in this regard. These (statements) prove that our new generation has a lot of capability. The coming forward of such a talented student and youth will strengthen the roots of democracy in the country.”

Hailing Kanhaiya Kumar’s speech, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav said there should be more and more “Kanhaiya Kumars” in our country “so that people could live and sleep fearlessly as he is the true nationalist, and not anti-national as BJP has branded him.”

“I am impressed with this student on his understanding of the issues of the nation. His speech was that of a very matured person. The country needs such students who are really nationalists and are thinking about the country,” Mr Yadav added.

Addressing the press on Friday in a follow-up to Thursday night’s speech, Kanhaiya Kumar said: “Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was a citizen of India and convicted as per law, awarded death penalty and the same law of the land legitimises a debate on his death penalty.” The student leader said Afzal Guru is not his “idol” but Rohith Vemula, the Hyderabad Central University student who committed suicide, is. “I am not a politician, I am a student. I have no intention of joining mainstream politics or contesting any election,” he said, adding, “I want to question as a student and I will like to answer as a teacher in the future. So, the question about my political ambitions should be kept aside.”